The Shinigami - The Gods of Death
by PlainStoryTeller
Summary: When a humans will to die is stronger than their will to live, the gods become uneasy, some even mournful. If it is severe enough and reaches the point of suicide, the gift of life from god to man is defiled and divine punishment follows. Sentenced to an eternity of living, in the sorrow of knowing even Death rejects them, a Shinigami is born.
1. Divine Punishment

**Prologue - Divine Punishment**

_ Why was I standing here again...? Right... I remember now. I'm not standing anymore. A second ago, I was standing on a barrel, now, my feet are dangling. In fact, my entire body is swinging back and forth, back and forth._

_ I feel pain in my neck, I can't breathe. I choke for air, but nothing comes in. My eyes are watering, wide as I stare at the grassy outskirts of town with bright lights flashing in and out. _

_ Nothing but spit and tears and flying out._

_ I claw at the thick rope wrapped around my neck. The natural instinct to live is trying to save me, but it's already too late. My arms grow weak as my legs continue to kick slightly. My mind is in a haze, I hear nothing but a ringing sound and my voice, crying out in anguish._

_ Then suddenly, my mind went blank. All sensation in my body was numb. I couldn't move, and the pain was gone. The want to breathe was no longer there, and my vision was becoming blurry. Then blurrier. Then dark, then darker._

_ And eventually..._

_ Black..._

_Why am I still thinking...? I am obviously dead. Is there an afterlife? What now? All of these thoughts were running through my mind for some reason._

_But then... wait... I hear... voices? They were so faint, I couldn't make out what they were saying. _

_Then there was a light_

_The voices become louder, and louder, until eventually, I can make out what they are saying._

"_Shall we get this court meeting on with?" A male said._

"_She's not even awake yet, how are we supposed to deliver a sentence?" Another replied._

"_Look! She's waking up. It seems her soul has completely left her body."_

_ These voices were all so different, pure almost. The light began to fade and my eyes began to focus, to render the scenes around me._

_ I was lying on the floor, and as I slowly got up. I looked around. It look like the inside of an imperial court palace, but none that I have ever seen before. Red and brown Oriental designs and patterns of exquisite detail were strewn about on the walls. Dragons made of gold scaled their way around the corner pillars, arising from the depths of the jaded floor. Silver lions were guarding the dozen seated people that were all glaring down at me. They didn't look too happy._

_ All of these people were adorned in wardrobes that matched that of the Emperor. No, surpassed him. What kind of nobles were these I asked myself. _

_ I felt that I can move, so I got up to my feet. It was strange, my body felt normal, or rather, healthy. I felt no hunger, or pain, or aches. I felt clean, and pure. I looked down to see that I was wearing a white kimono. _

_ Was I still dead?_

_ I had no time to think about it, as the voice of the first man spoke again._

_ "You! Do you have any words to explain yourself?" He asked in a very accusing manner._

_ "I-I..." I shook my head, not understanding what he was asking, "I have no understanding of what you speak of."_

_ One of the nobles leaned over to him and whispered something inaudible._

_ The first noble rolled his eyes, and shook his head afterward, "It seems that Benzaiten brought up the point that you are not aware of your current situation."_

_ I was still confused, what did I do wrong? Did I do something to warrant punishment? Is this to determine my afterlife?_

_ "Enma, you're not helping the case here. Maybe I should explain?" The noble who whispered to him replied. _

_ I suppose that is Benzaiten. I gazed at her. She was beautiful, flowing silk like hair. Clothing that looked as if it was art itself. Her voice rang like birds chirping of the morning. But as I gazed at her, I suddenly remembered the name Enma._

_ The God of Judgment of the dead, but, if he is the God of Judgment. Then that makes the rest of these people...?! I could hardly maintain composure. Here I was, standing before a council of gods, awaiting a sentence for a crime I know nothing of. _

_ Benzaiten stood up as Enma sat. "Now... You mortal, has committed a grave offense to one of tenants of the High Heavens."_

_ My eyebrows furrowed as she spoke that, what tenants? I asked myself. I dare not speak a word, in fear of angering these gods. But it seems too late, as I might have already angered them._

_ "Izanagi is the god of life and creation. He gave you mortals the gift of life, and he expected that gift to be treasured and cherished. But as flawed as you humans are, that gift is tarnished when one of you ends your life by your own hand." Benzaiten said as she pointed her fan towards me. "As a result, Izanagi became distraught that humans were taking their own lives, throwing away the gift he gave to them. And he saw no other way than to punish those who did so."_

_ My eyes widened with disbelief. I didn't know it was a crime to take your own life. Did the gods so value human lives to such a point? Yet, why is there such suffering and anguish in the living world? My thoughts flooded into my head, as I opened my mouth without thinking._

_ "What is my punishment?" At an instant I covered my mouth._

_ "That is a good question" Benzaiten replied as she sat back down. "Enma, that is for you to decide."_

_ Enma crossed his arms for a second, mumbling to himself. "If I recall correctly, the punishment for this crime is the denial of access to the Far Shore. And eternal exile to the living world as a servant to Izanami."_

_ "A Shinigami..." One of the gods in the council spoke up, "One who invites humans to death, for they themselves are denied the opportunity to die."_

_ "Quiet Omoikane. Let the lady find out herself what eternal punishment the crime of suicide brings forth." Another god said in response._

_ Omoikane glanced with a slight grin and a raised eyebrow. "Now now Inari, I'm just giving a description of what a vassal of Izanami does." He said to the goddess of fertility. _

_ Eternal punishment? Crime of suicide? I quivered. _

_ "Quiet!" Enma continued as he stood up once more. "The decision is final. As the God of Judgment, and per unanimous agreement with the Judges Council, I hereby sentence you to an eternity as a servant of death. This shall be your reason for existence, this shall be your sole purpose."_

_Raising his arm, he held a brush. With that brush, he wrote on a scroll and said, "Now begone!"_

_At an instant, I felt a cold wave creep through my body. A dark mist engulfed my body and dragged me downward. I tried to fight back, but it kept at it, until eventually, my sight was black again. _

_**ooo**_

_Everything was silent, and dark. But I felt a wind. And eventually, I heard sounds again. The sounds of people, the sounds of a crowd. Then, I felt my eyes slowly open themselves. I was in the middle of a small crowd of people. I looked around, they were all staring in one direction. Mumbling, gossiping. _

_ "Hey, didn't her husband die weeks back?"_

_ "Such a shame, what made her want to do that?"_

_ "The gods must be furious..."_

_ "Sad to see a youngster go like that. Not even long enough to start a family"_

_Then I suddenly realized something, and looked to what they were looking. _

_Hanging there from the tree, rope stretched and tied around the neck. Tears and spit dripping from the chin. It was a body, my body, hanging there silently, sway lightly with the wind._

_ I stared down at my hands with tears forming in my eyes._

_ This wasn't a dream. This was my divine punishment._

**A/N:** Hey this is PlainStoryTeller. You guys might now me for my notable Shingeki no Kyojin and Sword Art Online fanfics, if not, you should give them a read if you like both shows! I will be trying to find the time to update both of those fanfics for my other faithful readers.

But here I have a fanfic for Noragami that I've been thinking about for quite a while. I felt that death wasn't a subject that was gone in depth in the anime or manga, so I feel that this would be an interesting turn of events to put things into perspective. Don't worry, we'll tie in with Yato and the rest, but not for a while.

Other than that, enjoy the chapter! I'll try to update soon!


	2. Wisdom for a Newborn

**Chapter 1 – Wisdom for a Newborn**

"Lord Tenjin!" A lady called out in desperation as she quickly rushed into the room where a middle aged man had resided. He was sitting down, reading a scroll and drinking some tea.

"Eh? What is it Shoyu?" Tenjin, the God of Learning and Wisdom replied, "So loud for nice morning for tea"

Shoyu was quite unsettled, "T-There's a strange presence that's made it's way to one of our shrines! It reeks of Death!"

Tenjin's eyebrows frowned and then furrowed, "Death you say...?" he said as he stood up. He was quite intrigued, "I'll have to take a look see for myself then." He then snapped his fingers and he and Shoyu had disappeared in a flash of light. They suddenly found themselves on the grounds of a mid sized shrine area. All of his Shinki were keeping their distance from a figure that was lying down on an altar.

"What's going on here?" Tenjin asked as he approached his Shinki with a rather skeptical face.

"That over there!" One of them replied pointing to the person sleeping on the altar. "She smells of death! One of Izanami's servants I betcha!"

Tenjin tilted and scratched his head out of confusion, "Now what would a Shinigami be doing here?" He asked himself as he took steps forward to approach the lady. Lightly pushing her shoulder, he asked, "Hey now, what is a lady like you sleeping in a place like this?" He observed her appearance. Simple clothes that didn't really tell much about where she came from, she had raven black hair that was short and hung close to her neck. She was quite a young adult. Tenjin figured maybe around 20 or so.

The lady slowly opened her eyes before yawning. She spoke rather groggily, "I came here seeking wisdom from Lord Tenjin." She said as she hugged her knees and rested her chin in between. "I'm in a situation that I don't understand."

Tenjin stood upright as he unfolded his fan and began to fan himself, "I see." He said as he held a hand out, "Maybe I could be of assistance?"

The lady looked up at him with an abyssal stare.

"Just take my hand, I'll explain when we are in a more comfortable place" Tenjin replied.

Without much hesitation, she slowly held her hand out and touched his. With a dim light, she had suddenly seen the scene of the shrine around her fade, and the warm presence of a room enter. Flooding her senses with a clean and relaxing aura.

"Wha-" she began to mutter before Tenjin said:

"Please, have a seat" He motioned at the low table where he was sitting earlier. "Would you like some tea?" he offered.

The lady accepted, still not unsure of what was going on.

Tenjin cleared his voice before continuing, "What's your name?"

"Mizo" She replied.

"Mizo..." The God of Learning replied, "You have come seeking Tenjin's wisdom correct?"

She nodded.

"Well then Mizo," he replied as he folded his fan and laid it on his table, "What can I help you with today?" he asked as he held up the small offering that is Shinki had given him the night before. He was grinning slightly.

The lady was quite shocked as Tenjin revealed himself before her, "T-Tenjin... Sa-Sama!" she exclaimed as she almost dropped her tea. After managing to recompose herself, even slightly, she began to explain her situation.

After a lengthy story, Tenjin rubbed his chin whilst muttering to himself. "This seems like a very complex situation you are in right now. Are you familiar with the Shinigami Mizo?"

Mizo shook her head, "No, I am not."

"Not a surprise in this feudal day and age," Tenjin responded as he began to explain. "The Shinigami are people who are servants to the God of Death Izanami."

"Does that mean they bring death to others?!" Mizo asked. As much as she tried to kill herself, bringing death to others rustled her thoughts.

Tenjin shook his head, "No, it simply means that you serve Death, not bring it. There is a place called the Far Shore, in which human souls travel to when they move on from this world. Think of it as an afterlife. Once you die in this world, the Shinigami's job is to guide you to the Far Shore, lest your soul becomes corrupted by the Phantoms."

"What's a Phantom?"

"Now now, I'll get to that in a second," Tenjin waved his hand, "These Phantoms come from the Far Shore, in which they are the manifestation of human sin. They corrupt souls who are traveling to the Far Shore without guidance. They wreak havoc on the living, and can cause many terrible incidents to occur." Before continuing, Tenjin took a moment to sip some tea.

Mizo was still rather confused and speechless about what was being told to her. "How are these Phantoms stopped?"

Tenjin looked up at the ceiling for a bit, trying to come up with a way to explain to Mizo, "Well you see, to put it in plain words... You are a god now."

The Shinigami blinked for a few moments, before shaking her head and muttering, "Whaat?"

"Hehe, actually. Lemme back track for a few moments." Tenjin said waving his hand to forget about what he said for the moment. "You aren't an actual god. You aren't born from the wishes and desires of humans. But rather, you are the result of a human wish and desire. The desire to die."

Those last words hit Mizo's head like a rock, and a sudden wave of guilt had crept over her. The image of her lifeless body had flashed in her mind, and those words the Court of Gods condemned to her had echoed in her ears.

"You took your own life, didn't you?" Tenjin quietly asked as his tone became somewhat sympathetic. Mizo simple nodded her head without a word.

"Becoming a Shinigami isn't a punishment for those who simply take their own life." The Wisdom God began to continue, "Did you do something else? Or rather, did you ask a God to take your life for you?"

"I-.." The Shinigami's eyes widened out of realization, remembering what she had done weeks earlier. "I asked... but he refused..." she murmured, her voice croaking and breaking down.

**ooo**

"_You are the God of Calamity correct?" Mizo's voice asked, shrill and desperate._

_A young man stared back at her, with an ominous girl dressed in a shrine maidens outfit with a white triangle cloth wrapped around her head. His stare was blank, as he simply nodded in reply, "That is me, Yato, the God of Calamity."_

_Mizo dropped down to her knees, offering what little money she had in the palm of her hands, "Then please! Hear my request!"_

_Yato stood up from his sitting on the edge of the well, and put a hand on his hip, tilting his head to listen to her request. "What would that be?"_

"_Please... kill me!" The desperately recent widow had hollered out as she raised her head. Tears were flowing down her pale rosy cheeks._

_Silence ensued for a moment before Yato drew his sword. Mizo slowly closed her eyes, awaiting Yato's response to her plea, but nothing came. Only the sound of Yato stabbing his sword into the ground was heard. "I do not kill people, who want to be killed. And neither do I take request from those who are too scared to take their own life."_

**ooo**

"W-what am I to d-do Lord Tenjin?!" Mizo began to panic and cry. Her tears were dripping onto the tatter pants she wore, and her hair hung down messy and unkempt.

"Now now, you humans would do anything to live forever" Tenjin insensitively joked as he quick stare from his eavesdropping Shinki was seen, "B-but that's beside the point. I believe that the best course of action for you now is to take a walk a round. You'll begin to see these Akashi I speak of. The only way for you to defeat them is through obtaining a Shinki. A Shinki is the uncorrupted spirit of a dead human. When the time comes, you will know what to do. However, for your case, all the other details I know not of." He began to explain. "Yet, I do believe that a Shinki is not required to guide the souls of the dead. But it does make it much easier, and also sets those poor corrupt souls to rest."

Mizo gave Tenjin a confused look, trying to process everything in her mind. Nothing made sense, yet, what Tenjin was telling her seemed very familiar.

"To cut it short," Tenjin noticed, "All you need to do for now is to guide the dead to the afterlife. Those other things are irrelevant for now. Understood?"

"Y-yes!" Mizo replied, understanding very clearly. 'Wait... but how do I do that?" It was probably the most critical detail that Tenjin had not mentioned yet to her.

Tanjin rubbed the back of his head, laughing to himself rather shamelessly, "I actually don't know!" He honestly said.

A somewhat skeptical stare was strewn in Mizo's eyes as she expressed her slight disappointment towards Tenjin, "_God of Wisdom huh..."_

"Hey!" Tenjin hollered as he pointed at her, "I know what your thinking!" An agitated comment was thrown as he cleared his throat. "The Shinigami are a very foreign topic, even to myself. The only proper way to learn is from another like you."

Mizo's mouth curbed with thought, "I see..."

"I wish I could be of more help, but that's just about all I know" With the clack of his fan, Tenjin set his fan down and sipped his tea a bit. "Anything else?"

There was silence for a moment from Mizo, but she eventually asked, "What about food and water?"

Lord Tenjin simply chuckled in reply, "Visit the Shrines once in a while, there'll be a nice surprise waiting for you. Not that you'll really need it, but consider it a reward for your deeds"

"Now, if that's all you needed to ask,"He said before raising his hand, "You should get going now. The High Heavens will scorn me if I prevent you from doing your duties". He snapped his fingers, then in an instant, Mizo found herself sitting at the altar again, with a small note in her hands.

"_Come to me if you ever need some advice_"

She blinked a couple of times, still very absent minded about what had just happened within the past few hours. "So... I'm a god... now?" she murmured to herself as she looked at her open palm. There was mixed feelings towards the gift of eternal life out of punishment for wanting to end life. Was it a second chance? She wondered. Looking towards the sky, the newborn Shinigami wondered to the heavens, "What am I to do..?"

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. Not much to say here, I kind of wanted to give a little bit of the mechanics behind the Shinigami and what not, so why not have Tenjin explain it all? Anyways, we'll be following Mizo's journey through history on towards the modern age as a Shinigami, so what'll happen next? I'll try to update more frequently, and for those of you who are wondering, yes I plan on updating my other stories soon! Until next time!**


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